Quebec sleepaway camps given greenlight to operate, but some say it's too late

The province is allowing sleepaway camps to operate this summer, with special measures in place. 

The exact details of these measures are still being finalized and will be announced in the coming days, the Association des camps du Québec (ACQ) said Friday.

"There will obviously be recommendations for preventative isolation, and to still avoid being in large groups in the days up to the arrival," director-general Éric Beauchemin told Radio-Canada. 

Day camps had already been given the green light to open this summer, and the province announced Thursday that counsellors are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, provided they have proof of employment. 

In a statement, Quebec's Health Ministry says day camps will be able to start preparing for the 2021 season by looking at the rules that were in place for them last year.

But it says some of those rules may be subject to change, depending on the epidemiological situation. 

"As for sleepaway camps, public health is collaborating with the Association des camps du Québec to decide on measures to be put in place," the statement says. "We understand it's pressing for the overnight camps to start preparing." 

Regardless of what those measures end up being, Grant McKenna is eager to get his camp, Camp Nominingue, up and running this year. 

"There's no question there's some stress but it's exciting news because I know that all of our staff, all of our parents are really excited about the idea of camp being open," said McKenna. 

"We don't know what the final protocol's going to be. One of the things on the table, that we've been considering is keeping the staff on-site, just for their safety as well as the safety particularly of the campers." 

But just because overnight camps are now allowed to open does not mean all of them will. 

YMCA Québec for instance, is sticking to its decision to close its overnight camp, Camp Kanawana, deciding instead to focus instead on running 10 different day camps. 

In an interview last month, Sean Day, regional director of camps for YMCA Québec, said closing the camp was not an easy decision, but offering overnight services to more than 250 campers at once just didn't seem possible. 

Camp association calls for funding

The ACQ is also calling on the government to provide the province's camps with $10 million in financial assistance, in order to implement additional public health measures. 

The association says, if they are granted that money, $6 million of it would go to sleepaway camps specifically, in part to make up for the revenue they lost last year. 

Last summer, the Quebec government allowed only day camps to open with special measures like bubbles in place. Sleepaway camps were forced to remain closed.